COLUMBIA  LIBRARIES  OFFSITE 

AVERY  FINE  ARTS  RESTRICTED 


R01397516 


•^<<>ip»Mi»#*M«J»J*l'»i«IM<l||Mll>il|lU»»«tt1IWlliMjM<|^UWIilH|WWWaill>< 


CAT  A  L  O  G  L" 


M AN IJSCRIPTS,  E XCERP' 

AND   MAPS, 


P  A 


PRINTS 


« ,.yj: 


A    HISTORY    m 


THE    BO  ROT 


pt  r  in  v    i!  v   t 


THE    COMMITTEE    APTOIiNTET)    i 


Loner  Island  Historical  Socie 


llflWIMIIHMlllllllHJUIIIIMWMWIIlll  >UMMH  Mm 


. 


iEx  ICtbrtH 


SEYMOUR   DURST 


~t '  ~Fort  nteiitu    %sim/te.r<unn-  oj>  Je  M<rtJtatans 


FORT     NEW    AMSTERDAM 


"When  you  leave,  please  leave  this  book 

Because  it  has  been  said 
"Ever'thing  comes  t'  him  who  waits 

Except  a  loaned  book." 


Avery  Arc  hi  i  i  c  i  ural  and  Fine  Arts  Library 
(in  roi  Sn  moi  k  B.  I)i  rsi  Old  York  Libr  \m 


CATALOGUE 

OF 

MANUSCRIPTS,  EXCERPTA,  PRINTS 

AND  MAPS, 

AVAILABLE  AS  MATERIAL  FOR 

A   HISTORY   OF 
THE   BOROUGH   OF   BROOKLYN 


COMPILED  BY  THE  ORDER  OF 
THE   COMMITTEE   APPOINTED   BY 

The  Long  Island  Historical  Society 

1909 


THE     TROW     PRESS 

201-213  EAST  TWELFTH  STREET,   NEW  YORK 


c^6fl 


PKEFACE. 

A  number  of  scholarly  and  influential  citizens  of  Brook- 
lyn favoring  the  collection  and  compilation  of  material  af- 
fording authentic  and  authoritative  information  relating  to 
the  past  and  present  history  of  the  place  and  its  inhabitants, 
brought  the  project  to  the  consideration  of  the  Board  of  Di- 
rectors of  the  Long  Island  Historical  Society  at  its  meeting 
held  on  October  19,  1896.  Recognizing  the  local  importance 
of  the  proposed  undertaking,  the  board  thereupon  appointed 
Tunis  G.  Bergen,  Wilhelmus  Mynderse,  and  John  Jay 
Pierrepont  to  be  a  committee  to  wait  upon  the  Honorable 
Frederick  W.  Wurster,  the  mayor  of  the  city  of  Brooklyn, 
and  ascertain  his  views  and  report  them  to  the  board.  The 
committee's  consultation  with  his  Honor  the  Mayor  eventu- 
ated in  the  enactment  by  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  New 
York  of  a  law  authorizing  the  prosecution  of  the  work.  At 
the  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the  Long  Island 
Historical  Society,  on  May  24,  1897,  it  was  resolved  that  a 
committee  should  be  appointed  with  power  to  take  the  direc- 
tion and  superintendence  of  the  collection  and  compilation  of 
materials  available  for  the  publication  of  a  history  of  the  city 
as  contemplated  and  proposed,  and  the  board  delegated  Tunis 
G.  Bergen,  Wilhelmus  Mynderse,  John  Jay  Pierrepont,  Al- 
fred T.  White,  and  James  H.  Bates  to  discharge  the  duties 
of  that  committee. 

On  June  28,  1897,  the  Honorable  Frederick  W.  Wurster, 

mayor  of  the  city,  empowered  the  Long  Island  Historical 

Society  to  take  charge  of  the  work.     The  committee,  in  order 

to  further  as  speedily  as  practicable  the  compilation  of  the 

most  available  and  valuable  material,  determined  to  have 

3 


4  PREFACE. 

transcripts  made  of  the  Dutch  and  English  text  of  the  rec- 
ords of  the  early  settled  towns,  namely,  those  of  Midwout 
(afterward  Flatbush),  Brooklyn,  Amersfoort  (afterward 
Elatlands),  Xew  Utrecht,  Gravesend,  and  Bushwick.  How- 
ever, before  the  close  of  the  year  1897,  the  proposed  changes 
of  the  form  of  government  of  the  municipality  influenced  the 
committee  to  discontinue  the  undertaken  work,  and  there- 
after, when  the  administration  of  the  local  government  should 
warrant  the  further  prosecution  of  it,  to  have  it  resumed. 

On  March  25,  1903,  the  work  of  transcribing  the  Dutch 
and  English  text  of  the  extant  records  of  the  six  towns,  first 
seated  on  the  present  territory  of  Kings  County,  was  again 
undertaken,  and  prosecuted  until,  in  July,  1904,  when  in 
conjunction  with  it,  the  committee  decided  to  enlarge  the 
field  of  work,  and  to  have  material  collected  and  compiled 
relating  to  the  discovery  of  the  site  of  the  city,  the  tribal  title 
of  the  Indians  inhabiting  it,  and  other  particulars  disclos- 
ing the  physical  features  of  its  territory,  the  original  names 
designating  them,  and  subsequent  events  specializing  the 
information  extant  in  Europe  in  the  sixteenth  century  re- 
garding the  name  by  which  the  site  of  the  city  was  desig- 
nated, the  explorations  enlarging  the  geographical  knowl- 
edge of  the  adjacent  country,  the  savages  occupying  it,  and  the 
traffic  begun  with  them  by  adventurous  traders.  Still  later, 
attention  was  given  to  the  collection  and  compilation  of  other 
material  for  the  development  of  the  history  of  the  first  settle- 
ments and  their  inhabitants  under  the  government  of  the 
West-India  Company,  when  Long  Island  lay  within  the  ter- 
ritorial extent  of  Xew  Xetherland,  and  onward,  when  it  and 
its  inhabitants  fell  under  the  rule  of  the  English  Crown,  and 
finally  to  the  period  in  which  it  became  a  part  of  the  State 
of  Xew  York,  and  its  people  free  and  independent  citizens 
of  the  United  States  of  America. 


PREFACE.  5 

The  material  now  collected  comprises  authentic  and  au- 
thoritative information  appertaining  to  the  past  and  present 
history  of  the  Borough  of  Brooklyn.  It  embodies  no  base- 
less theories,  no  specious  speculations.  The  present  catalogue 
discloses  by  references  and  notes  the  quality  and  quantity  of 
this  compiled  material  which  chronologically  ranges  through 
four  centuries. 

The  value  of  the  projected  history  cannot  be  overesti- 
mated in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  future  growth  of  the 
borough  and  its  increased  population  will  have  advanced  it, 
even  in  so  short  a  space  of  time  as  a  hundred  years,  to  a 
standard  far  beyond  any  conceivable  at  the  present  time. 

The  delineation  of  a  map,  representing  the  original  lines 
of  the  first  plantations,  farms,  sites  of  villages,  and  building 
plots,  with  their  metes  and  bounds,  as  described  in  the  letters 
patent  and  extant  deeds,  granted  and  issued  under  the  sanc- 
tion of  the  successive  directors-general  and  councils  of  Xew 
Netherland,  1636-1674,  together  with  the  cartographic  out- 
lines of  the  traversed  roads  and  Indian  paths,  extending 
across  the  territory  now  lying  within  the  bounds  of  the  Bor- 
ough of  Brooklyn,  has  recently  been  undertaken.  Two  other 
maps,  one  exhibiting  some  of  the  subdivisions  of  the  early 
farms,  and  a  second,  drawn  to  the  same  scale  as  the  others, 
representing  the  lines  of  the  present  avenues,  streets,  and 
roads  within  the  limits  of  the  Borough  of  Brooklyn,  which, 
being  outlined  on  vellum,  can  be  superposed  upon  the  others 
in  order  to  exhibit  the  situation  of  the  original  plantations, 
farms,  sites  of  the  villages,  and  building  plots,  will  also  be 
delineated  hereafter  as  contemplated  by  the  committee. 

Tunis  G.  Beegen, 

Chairman  of  the  Committee. 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y., 
December  21,  1909. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2013 


http://archive.org/details/catalogueofmanusOOIong 


THE    WOEK    AUTHORIZED    BY    THE    LEGISLA- 
TURE   OP    THE    STATE. 

Chapter  457. 

An  Act  to  authorize  the  city  of  Brooklyn  to  provide  for  col- 
lecting and  preserving  materials  for  the  history  of 
Brooklyn.     Accepted  by  the  city. 

Became  a  law  May  17,  1897,  with  the  approval  of  the 

Governor. 

Passed,  three  fifths  being  present. 

The  People  of  the  State  of  New  York,  represented  in  Senate 
and  Assembly,  do  enact  as  follows: 

Section  1.  The  Mayor  of  the  city  of  Brooklyn  is  author- 
ized and  empowered,  in  his  discretion,  to  make  such  pro- 
vision as  to  him  may  seem  proper  for  the  collection,  copying, 
translation,  and  preservation  of  documents,  records  and  other 
materials  relating  to  the  history  of  Brooklyn.  Eor  the  pur- 
pose of  carrying  out  the  provisions  of  this  act  the  sum  of 
thirty  thousand  dollars  may  be  taken  from  the  revenue  fund 
of  said  city  upon  the  certification  of  the  said  mayor,  but 
no  more  than  six  thousand  dollars  shall  be  taken  or  ex- 
pended for  the  purposes  aforesaid  in  any  one  year.  The 
said  amounts  or  any  part  thereof  shall  from  time  to  time  be 
paid  over  to  the  society,  person  or  persons  selected  by  the 
said  mayor,  who  may  in  his  discretion  designate  and  au- 
thorize the  Long  Island  Historical  Society  of  the  city  of 
Brooklyn,  or  such  other  person  or  persons  to  perform  such 
work  as  he  may  direct. 

§  2.  This  act  shall  take  effect  immediately. 

Laws  of  New  York,  120th  Session.    Vol.  2,  pp.  736,  737. 

7 


COMMITTEE  IN  CHARGE  OE  THE  WORK. 

Members  of  the  Long  Island  Historical  Society  appointed 
to  serve  on  the  committee  having  the  direction  and  super- 
vision of  the  work: 

Tunis  G.  Bergen, 

WlLHELMUS    MyNDERSE, 

John  Jay  Pierrepont, 
Alfred  T.  White, 
James  H.  Bates, 
Appointed,  May  24,  1897. 

Erank  Sherman  Benson, 
(James  H.  Bates,  deceased), 
Appointed,  November  29,  1901. 

Robert  D.  Benedict, 
(Wilhelmus  Mynderse,  deceased), 
William  G.  Low, 
(John  Jay  Pierrepont,  resigned), 
Appointed,  November  19,  1906. 

John  E.  Leech,  The  Rev.  Reese  E.  Alsop, 

(Erank  Sherman  Benson,  D.D., 

deceased),  (Robert  D.  Benedict,  re- 

Appointed  May  13,  1907.  signed), 

Appointed  May  25,  1908. 

Members  of  the  present  committee: 

Tunis  G.  Bergen,  chairman, 
Alfred  T.  White, 
William  G.  Low, 
John  E.  Leech, 

The  Rev.  Reese  E.  Alsop,  D.D. 

8 


THE  MATEKIAL  AND  SCOPE  OF  THE  PRO- 
JECTED HISTORY  OF  THE  BOROUGH 
OF  BROOKLYN. 

The  collection  and  compilation  of  material,  as  planned  and 
undertaken,  to  include  the  transcription  of  such  manuscripts 
and  records  as  well  as  such  excerpta,  copies  of  maps,  pic- 
tures of  buildings  and  localities,  portraits,  and  data  as 
shall  contribute  authentic  and  important  information  relat- 
ing to  the  past  and  present  history  of  the  place  and  its  in- 
habitants. 

The  range  of  the  subject-matter  of  this  history  to  extend 
from  the  year  1523,  when  a  number  of  ships  were  fitted  out 
in  several  ports  of  France  to  search  westward  of  Europe  for 
a  navigable  passage  to  India,  followed  by  the  sailing  of 
one  of  them,  in  1524,  on  the  voyage  that  led  to  the  discovery 
of  the  site  of  the  Borough  of  Brooklyn ;  and  to  continue 
through  the  sixteenth  century  onward  to  the  present  time. 
The  geographical  name  that  designated,  in  1527,  the  stretch 
of  land  on  the  east  side  of  the  Narrows,  now  the  site  of 
the  Borough  of  Brooklyn,  establishes  the  fact  that  no  other 
city  on  the  Atlantic  coast  of  the  United  States  of  America 
has  the  historical  distinction  of  having  its  site  so  definitely 
delineated  at  so  early  a  date. 

The  chronological  disposition  of  the  material  under  titled 

periods  and  its  preservation  in  tin  cases  distinguished  by 

consecutive  numbers,   and  the   orderly  arrangement  of  the 

cases  in  five  strongly  made  and  safely  locked  wooden  chests, 

manifest  the  care  taken  to  prevent  theft  and  to  render  the 

material   available  for   publication.      The  manuscripts   and 

excerpta  contained  in  the  tin  cases  embodying  information 

relating  to  the  past  and  present  history  of  the  site  of  the 

Borough  of  Brooklyn  and  its  inhabitants  now  range  from 

9 


10  CATALOGUE   OF  MANUSCRIPTS. 

the  year  1523  to  the  year  1851,  and  are  classified  under 
specific  headings,  severally  titled:  the  Aboriginal  period, 
the  French  period,  the  Dutch  periods,  the  English  periods, 
the  Revolutionary  period,  etc.,  etc. 

The  text  of  some  of  the  manuscripts,  other  than  English, 
embraces  transcriptions  and  translations  of  six  languages: 
Icelandic,  Italian,  French,  Portuguese,  Spanish,  and  Dutch. 


UNWARRANTED  CLAIMS  OF  PRIORITY  IN  THE 
DISCOVERY    OF    LONG   ISLAND. 

First  Manuscript. 

A  brief  review  of  the  misrepresented  extent  of  the  early 

voyages  of  the  Northmen; 

and 

a  short  exposition  of  the  groundless   allegations  of 

Sebastian  Cabot. 

Case  1.    Folios  J/.5. 

Inasmuch  as  the  material  disclosing  the  date  of  the  dis- 
covery of  Long  Island  may  be  regarded  as  invalidated  by 
the  claim  that  certain  Norsemen  in  the  Middle  Ages  dis- 
covered and  explored  the  Atlantic  coast  of  North  America 
as  far  south  as  Narragansett  Bay,  conducive  of  the  belief 
that  the  adventurous  Scandinavians  sailed  within  sight  of 
the  island,  a  brief  review  of  the  Icelandic  traditions  relating 
to  the  finding  of  the  region  denominated  Vinland  will  serve 
introductorily  to  show  that  no  legitimate  evidence  can  be 
adduced  from  the  phraseology  of  the  invaluable  Sagas  to 
warrant  the  publication  of  the  claim. 

The  allegations  on  which  is  based  the  claim  that  John 
Cabot  and  his  son  Sebastian  were  the  discoverers  of  land 
south  of  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  in  1497,  and  that  Sebas- 
tian Cabot  sailed  either  in  1498  or  in  1499,  south  of  the 
latitude  of  Long  Island,  inspecting  the  coast  of  North  Amer- 
ica trending  thither,  are  given  pertinent  consideration  in  a 
short  exposition,  following  the  brief  review  of  the  field  of 
the  early  voyages  of  the  Northmen. 

11 


THE    ABORIGINAL    PERIOD. 

Second  Manuscript. 

The  Duck  Tribe  of  Indians. 

Case  1.    Folios  S. 

As  no  authentic  information  is  extant  regarding  the  space 
of  time  in  which  the  Indians  found  occupying,  in  1524,  the 
western  part  of  Long  Island  had  held  possession  of  it,  the 
history  of  the  aboriginal  people  titled  the  Duck  tribe  justly 
begins  with  the  discovery  of  it,  and  extends  to  an  indefinite 
date  in  the  following  century.  When  the  earliest  known  ship 
that  ever  rode  at  anchor  in  the  Lower  Bay  of  New  York, 
was  first  seen  there  by  many  members  of  the  tribe,  they 
joyously  acclaimed  their  interest  in  watching  the  inquisitive 
discoverer  and  a  part  of  the  crew  embark  in  a  boat  and  pass 
through  the  Narrows  and  into  the  Upper  Bay,  where  other 
members  of  the  tribe  put  out  in  canoes  to  greet  the  unknown 
explorers,  who,  having  made  a  short  circuit  of  that  expansive 
body  of  water  and  a  hasty  survey  of  the  attractive  features 
of  the  surrounding  scenery,  hurriedly  returned  to  the  ship 
and  continued  the  northward  voyage.  Later  French  explor- 
ers and  fur  traders  became  familiarly  acquainted  with  the 
friendly  natives.  The  stretches  of  ground  cultivated  by  them, 
and  the  different  channels  of  water  diversifying  that  part 
of  the  island  were  given  descriptive  names,  which,  in  cor- 
rupted forms,  still  attest  their  origin.  In  1636  and  later, 
the  names  of  the  chiefs  and  representatives  of  the  tribe  con- 
veying to  the  acquisitive  settlers  of  New  Netherland  certain 
portions  of  their  territorial  possessions,  are  found  engrossed 
in  letters  patent  given  to  the  purchasers. 

12 


THE    FREXCH    PERIOD. 

As  the  voyage  undertaken  in  1524  gave  France,  by  right 
of  discovery,  possession  of  a  long  stretch  of  the  territory  of 
North  America  bordering  on  the  Atlantic  Ocean  between 
Cape  Fear  and  Cape  Breton  Island,  this  acquired  domain 
had  historical  and  geographical*  distinction  until  the  early 
part  of  the  seventeenth  century,  when  evidences  of  the  usur- 
pation of  it  by  other  European  powers  became  apparent. 

Third  Manuscript. 

Sketch  of  the  life  and  voyages  of  discovery  of  the  Floren- 
tine navigator,  Janus  Verrazanus. 

Case  1.    Folios  10. 

It  is  undeniably  established  that  Janus  Verrazanus,  his- 
torically distinguished  under  the  title  of  the  Florentine  navi- 
gator, made  three  voyages  to  America ;  the  first  in  1508,  the 
second  in  1524,  and  the  third  in  1526.  To  him  must  be 
ascribed  the  discovery  of  the  site  of  the  Borough  of  Brooklyn, 
when,  in  1524,  he  sailed  along  the  Atlantic  coast  of  North 
America  in  a  fruitless  attempt  to  find  a  navigable  channel 
or  strait  leading  to  the  Indian  Ocean.  His  experience  as 
a  skilled  and  intelligent  navigator  was  not  only  acquired  on 
voyages  across  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  but  on  others,  chiefly  on 
the  Mediterranean  Sea.  A  number  of  his  ancestors  held  dif- 
ferent offices  of  honor  and  trust,  and  were  men  of  consider- 
able wealth,  represented  both  by  money  and  property.     He 

13 


14  CATALOGUE  OF  MANUSCRIPTS, 

was  born  in  Florence  about  the  year  1481,  and  was  probably 
forty-six  years  old  when  he  met  his  death,  in  1527,  at  the 
hand  of  a  body  of  savages,  while  ashore  in  America  exploring 
a  region  of  discovered  country.  More  definite  particulars 
respecting  the  fields  of  his  notable  voyages  and  the  interest- 
ing incidents  of  his  remarkable  life  are  disclosed  in  the 
thirteen  manuscripts  hereafter  catalogued  by  their  several 
titles. 

Fourth  Manuscript. 

Fields  of  discovery  of  the  French  in  North  America  be- 
tween the  years  1504  and  1527. 

Case  1.    Folios  5. 


Fifth  Manuscript. 

Discovery  of  the  St.  Lawrence  River,  in  1508,  by  Thomas 

Aubert  and  Janus  Verrazanus. 

Case  1.     Folios  $. 


Sixth  Manuscript. 

Demanded  embargo  by  Portugal  of  the  ships  of  Verra- 
zanus in  the  port  of  Rouen,  in  the  spring  of  1523. 

Case  1.    Folios  12. 


Seventh  Manuscript. 

Janus  Verrazanus  describes  the  incidents  of  his  second 

voyage  to  North  America. 

Case  1.    Folios  58. 


EXCERPTA,  PRINTS,   AND  MAPS.  15 

Eighth  Manuscript. 

An  abridged  copy  of  Janus  Verrazanus'  letter  by  Gio- 
vanni Battista  Ramusio. 

Case  1.    Folios  J/-7. 


Ninth  Manuscript. 

Bernardo  Carli's  letter  informing  his   father   of   Verra- 
zanus'  return  from  his  voyage  in  1524. 

Case  1.    Folios  9. 


Tenth  Manuscript. 

Declaration  of  Zanobus  de  Rousselay,  representing  the  in- 
terests of  Verrazanus,  at  Rouen,  September  30,  1525. 

Case  1.    Folios  Jf. 


Eleventh  Manuscript. 

Agreement  of  Philippe  Ohabot,  Jean  Ango,  Janus  Verra- 
zanus,  and  other  associates  to  further  a  voyage  to  the  Indies. 

Case  1.    Folios  9. 


Twelfth  Manuscript. 

Power   of   attorney  given  by  Janus  Verrazanus  to   his 
brother  Hieronymus  and  Zanobus  de  Rousselay. 

Case  i.    Folios  3. 


16  CATALOGUE   OF   MANUSCRIPTS, 

Thirteenth  Manuscript. 

Power  of  attorney  given  by  Janus  Verrazanus  to  Adam 
GodefTroy. 

Case  1.     Folios  5. 


Fourteenth  Manuscript. 

Death  of  Janus  Verrazanus  described  by  Giovanni  Bat- 
tista  Ramusio. 

Case  1.     Folios  7. 


Fifteenth  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  of  Janus  Verrazanus'  three  voyages  to  North 
America,  severally  in  1508,  1524,  and  1526. 

Case  1.    Folios  8. 

Sixteenth  Manuscript. 

Misstatements  of  Andres   Gonzales  de   Barcia  respecting 

Janus  Verrazanus. 

Case  1.     Folios  IS. 

Seventeenth  Manuscript. 

Geographical    description   of    New    France,    first    called 

Francesca. 

Case  1.     Folios  5. 

Eighteenth  Manuscript. 
Francesca  discovered  by  Janus  Verrazanus. 

Case  2.    Folios  3. 


EXCERPTA,   PRINTS,   AND   MAPS.  17 

Nineteenth  Manuscript. 

The  cape,  river,  town,  and  people  of  u  Norombegue,"  in 

1545. 

Case  2.    Folios  7. 


Twentieth  Manuscript. 

The  Great  Kiver,  called  by  the  French  "  Norombegue," 
and  by  the  natives  Aggoncy. 

Case  2.     Folios  3. 


THE    DUTCH    PERIODS. 

The  preliminary  steps  taken  by  certain  wealthy  capitalists 
in  the  United  Netherlands  to  occupy  a  part  of  New  France 
and  to  engage  in  profitable  projects  advantageous  to  them- 
selves, speedily  led  to  the  proclamation  by  the  Lords  States 
General  of  the  United  Netherlands,  on  June  3,  1621,  of  a 
grant  of  a  charter  to  the  West-India  Company,  followed  by 
amplifications  of  it  in  1622  and  1623.  In  the  spring  of 
1624  this  incorporated  body  took  possession  of  an  extensive 
stretch  of  territory  hereafter  described,  which  was  denom- 
inated New  Netherland.  The  events  immediately  preceding 
and  following  the  occupation  and  settlement  of  it  under  the 
government  of  the  West-India  Company  are  succinctly  nar- 
rated in  the  manuscripts  hereafter  titled  and  consecutively 
numbered. 

Twenty-first  Manuscript. 

Agreement  of  the  Directors  of  the  Amsterdam  chamber  of 

the  East-India   Company  and  Henry  Hudson,  on  January 

8,  1609. 

Case  2.    Folios  lJf. 


Twenty-second  Manuscript. 

Robert  Juet's  journal  of  Henry  Hudson's  third  voyage, 

begun  March  25,  1609. 

Case  2.    Folios  9£. 
18 


EXCERPTA,   PRINTS,   AND  MAPS.  19 

Twenty-third  Manuscript. 

The  exploration  of  the  Great  River,  in  1609,  suggested  to 
Henry  Hudson  by  Captain  John  Smith. 

Case  2.    Folios  15. 


Twenty-fourth  Manuscript. 

Joannes  de  Laet's  account  of  Henry  Hudson's  voyage  in 

1609. 

Case  2.    Folios  7. 


Twenty-fifth  Manuscript. 

Charter  of  the  West-India  Company  granted  June  3,  1621. 

Case  2.    Folios  57. 

Second  part  of  the  twenty-fifth  manuscript :  Amplification 
of  the  charter  of  the  West-India  Company,  June  10,  1622. 

Case  2.    Folios  IS. 

Third  part  of  the  twenty-fifth  manuscript:  Amplification 
of  the  charter  of  the  West-India  Company,  February  13, 
1623. 

Case  2.     Folios  7. 

Fourth  part  of  the  twenty-fifth  manuscript:  Agreement 
between  the  directors  and  the  chief  participants  of  the  West- 
India  Company,  June  21,  1623. 

Case  2.    Folios  19. 


20  CATALOGUE  OF  MANUSCRIPTS, 

Twenty-sixth  Manuscript. 

The  great  North  River  of  New  Netherland,  early  known 

as  the  Great  River. 

Case  3.    Folios  7. 


Twenty-seventh  Manuscript. 

Geographical  description  of  the  coast  of  New  Netherland, 

in  1625. 

Case  3.    Folios  7. 


Twenty-eighth  Manuscript. 

Purchase  of  the  island  Manhates  from  the  Wilden,   in 
1626. 

Case  3.    Folios  5. 


Twenty-ninth  Manuscript. 

The  Rev.  Jonas  Michaelius's  letter  to  the  Hon.  Joannes 
Foreest,  from  the  island  of  Manhates,  August  8,  1628. 

Case  3.     Folios  27. 


Thirtieth  Manuscript. 

The  Rev.  Jonas  Michaelius's  letter  to  the  Rev.  Adriaan 
Jorisson  Smout,  from  the  island  of  the  Manhates,  August 
11,  1628. 

Case  3.    Folios  37. 


EXCERPTA,   PRINTS,   AND  MAPS.  21 

Thirty-first  Manuscript. 

Historical  account  of  the  most  memorable  events  happen- 
ing in  New  Netherland  between  the  years  1623  and  1630. 

Case  3.    Folios  113. 


Thirty-second  Manuscript. 

Freedoms  and  Exemptions  for  the  patroons,  masters,  or 
private  persons  who  will  plant  any  colonies  in  and  send  cattle 
to  New  Netherland,  drawn  up  for  the  benefit  of  the  General 
West-India  Company,  in  New  Netherland,  and  for  the  profit 
of  the  patroons,  masters,  and  private  persons;  June  7,  1629. 

Case  3.    Folios  31. 


Thirty-third  Manuscript. 

Derivation  and  signification  of  the  names  originally  desig- 
nating Long  Island,  the  site  of  the  Borough  of  Brooklyn, 
its  physical  features,  and  aboriginal  inhabitants. 

Case  If.    Folios  85. 


EAELY  LAND  GKANTS  AND  DEEDS. 

The  names  early  bestowed  upon  the  different  tracts  of 
land,  bays,  and  streams  diversifying  the  scenery  of  the  stretch 
of  territory  now  the  site  of  the  Borough  of  Brooklyn,  as  well 
as  the  geographical  title  descriptive  of  the  physical  features 
of  Long  Island  that  are  presented  under  corrupted  forms 
in  letters-patent  and  deeds  issued  and  given  to  the  first  set- 
tlers as  confirmed  and  sanctioned  by  the  governors-general 
and  councils  of  New  Netherland,  are  severally  presented  in 
the  copies  of  these  land  grants  and  conveyances  hereafter 
titled.  The  value  of  these  land  papers  and  deeds  are  indis- 
putably beyond  estimation,  for  they  validly  establish  the  sit- 
uation and  bounds  of  the  first  plantations  and  farms  that 
were  seated  on  the  area  of  land  now  denominated  Kings 
County.  The  delineation  of  the  map  that  has  been  begun 
under  the  direction  and  supervision  of  the  committee  will 
cartographically  exhibit  the  outlines  of  the  different  tracts 
of  land  possessed  by  the  Dutch  and  English  settlers  dwelling 
in  this  part  of  New  Netherland. 

Thirty-fourth  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  Jacobus  van  Corler  of  the  middlemost  of 
the  three  flats  named  Castuteeuw,  June  16,  1636. 

Case  k-     Folios  7,  and  typewritten  duplicate. 

22 


EXCERPTA,   PRINTS,   AND   MAPS.  23 

Thirty-fifth  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  Andries  Hudden  and  Wolphert  Gerritsen 

of  the  westernmost  of  the  three  flats  named  Keskateuw,  July 

16,  1636. 

Case  4-    Folios  7 ,  and  typewritten  duplicate. 


Thirty-sixth  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  Wouter  van  Twiller  of  the  easternmost 
of  the  three  flats  named  Castetuew,  July  16,  1636. 

Case  Jf.    Folios  7 ',  and  typewritten  duplicate. 

Thirty-seventh  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  Wouter  van  Twiller  of  Nut  Island,  called 
Pagganch,  June  16,  1637. 

Case  J/-.    Folios  7,  and  typewritten  duplicate. 

Thirty-eighth  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  George  Rapalje  of  a  piece  of  land  called 
Rinnegachkonck,  June  16,  1637. 

Case  Jf.    Folios  7 ,  and  typewritten  duplicate. 

Thirty-ninth  Mx\nuscript. 

Renunciation  by  Jacobus  van  Corler  of  his  title  and  claim 
to  the  flat  to  the  west  of  the  easternmost  of  the  three  flats 
called  Cashuteije,  to  Wouter  van  Twiller,  July  22,  1638. 

Case  Jf.    Folios  J/.. 


24  CATALOGUE  OF  MANUSCRIPTS, 

Fortieth  Manuscript. 

Renunciation  by  Andries  Hudden  of  his  claim  and  half 
share  in  AcMervelt,  thereby  transferring  the  same  to  Gerrit 
Wolphertsz,  July  26,  1638. 

Case  Jf.     Folios  4- 

Forty-first  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  the  Directors  of  the  West-India  Com- 
pany of  a  piece  of  land  stretching  from  Rinnegachonck  to 
Mespaechtes,  August  1,  1638. 

Case  If.     Folios  7,  and  typewritten  duplicate. 

Forty-second  Manuscript. 

Sale  of  a  plantation  at  Gouwanes  by  Tomas  Bescher  to 
Cornells  Lambertsen  Cool,  May  17,  1639. 

Case  4-     Folios  5,  and  typewritten  duplicate. 

Forty-third  Manuscript. 

Particulars  of  the  renunciation  by  Andries  Hudden  of  his 
claim  and  half  share  pertaining  to  the  farm  called  AcMer- 
velt jointly  belonging  to  him  and  Wolphert  Gerritsen,  Au- 
gust 2,  1639. 

Case  4.     Folios  J>. 

Forty-fourth  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  Tomas  Bescher  of  a  piece  of  land  on  Long 
Island,  hard  by  Saphorakan,  November  28,  1639. 

Case  k.     Folios  5,  and  typewritten  duplicate. 


EXCERPTA,   PRINTS,   AND   MAPS.  25 

Forty-fifth  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  Keijer  Lambertsz  of  land  on  the  bend  of 
Marechfcawich,  March  23,  1640. 

Case  J+.     Folios  5,  and  typewritten  duplicate. 


Forty-sixth  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to    Frerick    Lubbertsen   of   land  on  Long 
Island,  near  Merechkawihingli,  May  27,  1640. 

Case  Jf..     Folios  5,  and  typewritten  duplicate. 


Forty-seventh  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  Abraham  Rijken  of  land  on  Long  Island, 
opposite  Rinnegaconchy  August  8,  1640. 

Case  Jf.     Folios  5,  and  typewritten  duplicate. 


Forty-eighth  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  Pieter  Montfort  of  a  piece  of  land  lying 
on  Long  Island,  May  29,  1641. 

Case  Jf.     Folios  5. 


Forty-ninth  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  Jan  Montfoort  of  land  on  Long  Island, 
near  Renegalconc,  May  29,  1641. 

Case  J+.     Folios  5. 


26  CATALOGUE   OF  MANUSCRIPTS, 

Fiftieth  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  Lambert  Huijbertsen  Mol  of  land  on  Long 
Island,  near  the  channel  of  Rinnegaconclc,  September  7, 
1641. 

Case  Jf.     Folios  5. 

Fifty-first  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  Cornells  Lambersen  Cool  of  a  piece  of 
land  on  Long  Island,  called  Gouwanes,  April  5,  1642. 

Case  Jf.     Folios  6. 

Fifty-second  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  Claes  Cornelisen  van  Schouw  of  land  on 
Long  Island  opposite  the  island  Manhatans,  November  14, 
1642. 

Case  .£•     Folios  5. 

Fifty-third  Manuscript. 

Terms  of  an  agreement  made  by  Cornells  Dircksz  Hooch- 
landt  and  Willem  Tomassen  regarding  the  sale  of  a  house 
and  garden,  and  land  adjacent,  and  the  ferry,  January  24, 

1643. 

Case  Jf.    Folios  J+. 

Fifty-fourth  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  Antony  Jansen  van  Salee  of  land  opposite 
Conijen  (Coney)  Island,  May  27,  1643. 

Case  Jf-.     Folios  6. 


EXCERPTA,   PRINTS,   AND   MAPS.  27 

Fifty-fifth  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  Pieter  Ceser  of  land  on  Long  Island,  in 
the  bend  of  Merechkawick,  June  17,  1643. 

Case  Jf.    Folios  7. 


Fifty-sixth  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to   Wouter   van   Twiller  of  land   on   Long 
Island,  called  Roode  Hoec  (Bed  Hook),  June  22,  1643. 

Case  J/-.     Folios  5. 


Fifty-seventh  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  Jacob  Wolphertsen  of  a  piece  of  land  ly- 
ing on  Long  Island,  July  6,  1643. 

Case  Jf.     Folios  5. 


Fifty-eighth  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  George  Bacxter  of  a  piece  of  land  lying 
on  Long  Island,  July  6,  1643. 

Case  5.  Folios  5. 


Fifty-ninth  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  Pieter  Montfoort  of  a  parcel  of  land  for 

a  tobacco  plantation  on  Long  Island,  on  the  bay  of  Meyrech- 

kawick,  August  17,  1643. 

Case  5.    Folios  7. 


28  CATALOGUE  OF  MANUSCRIPTS, 

Sixtieth  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  Gysbert  op  Dyck  of  the  whole  of  Conijen 
(Coney)  Islant,  May  24,  1644. 

Case  5.    Folios  7. 


Sixty-first  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  Jan  Evertsz  Bout  of  a  piece  of  land  lying 

on  Marechkawick,  July  6,  1645. 

Case  5.    Folios  7. 


Sixty-second  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  Henrij  Breser  of  a  piece  of  land  lying 
on  the  East  River,  Long  Island,  September  4,  1645. 

Case  5.    Folios  7. 


Sixty-third  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  Claes  Carsten  of  land  on  Long  Island, 
beginning  at  the  Halve  HoecJc  (Half  Cape),  September  5, 

1645. 

Case  5.  Folios  5. 


Sixty-fourth  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  the  Directors  of  the  West-India  Company 

of  land  lying  between  Kijnen  (Cows')  Island  and  Weywit- 

sprittner,  September  10,  1645. 

Case  5.  Folios  5. 


EXCERPTA,   PRINTS,   AND   MAPS.  29 

Sixty-fifth  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  Andries  Hudden  of  a  piece  of  land  on 
Long  Island,   obliquely  opposite  the  Fort,    September  12, 

1645. 

Case  5.     Folios  7. 


Sixty-sixth  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  Claes  Jansen  van  Naerden  of  a  piece  of 
land,  opposite  the  Fort,  September  30,  1645. 

Case  5.     Folios  7. 


Sixty-seventh  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  Robbert  Pinoijer  of  a  piece  of  land  on 

Long  Island,  between  the  land  of  Antony  Jansz  and  Mylady 

Moedij,  November  29,  1645. 

Case  5.     Folios  5. 


Sixty-eighth  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  Cornells  Dircksz,  ferryman,  of  a  piece  of 
land  on  Long  Island,  December  12,  1645. 

Case  5.    Folios  7. 


Sixty-ninth  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  Pieter  Cornelisz,  carpenter,  of  a  piece  of 
land  lying  on  Marechkaivick,  February  8,  1646. 

Case  5.    Folios  7. 


30  CATALOGUE   OF   MANUSCRIPTS, 

Seventieth  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  "Willem  Cornesze  (or  Cornelisen)  of  a 
piece  of  land  on  Long  Island,  in  the  bend  of  MarechkawicJc, 
February  19,  1646. 

Case  5.     Folios  5. 


Seventy-first  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  Huijch  Aertsz  van  Rosum  of  a  piece  of 
land  lying  on  MarecliJcaivick,  February  22,  1646. 

Case  5.     Folios  7. 


Seventy-second  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  Joris  Dircksz  of  a  piece  of  land  lying  on 

Maveclrikawick,  March  23,  1646. 

Case  5.     Folios  5. 


Seventy-third  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  Captain  Jan  Onderhil  of  a  small  island 
formerly  called  Meutelaers  Island,  May  14,  1646. 

Case  5.     Folios  5. 


Seventy-fourth  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  George  Bacxter  and  Ritchert  Clof,  and 
their  associated  company  of  certain  land  on  the  south  side 
of  Long  Island,  named  Canarise,  January  21,  1647. 

Case  5.    Folios  5. 


EXCERPTA,   PRINTS,   AND   MAPS.  31 


Seventy-fifth  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  Gerrit  Wolphersz  of  a  piece  of  land  lying 

on  Reclikeweck  in  the  valley  of  the   Gouivanisse   channel, 

March  11,  1647. 

Case  5.    Folios  5. 


Seventy-sixth  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  Cornells  van  Tienhoven  of  a  piece  of  land 

in  the  parcelling  out  of  Breukelen,  formerly  named  Marech- 

Jcawick,  March  15,  1647. 

Case  5.    Folios  5. 


Seventy-seventh  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  Jan  Pietersz  of  a  piece  of  land  on  Long 

Island,  March  29,  1647. 

Case  5.    Folios  5. 


Seventy-eighth  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  Hans  Hansz  of  a  piece  of  land  on  Long 
Island,  stretching  to  the  channel  of  Mespachtes,  March  30, 

1647. 

Case  5.    Folios  5. 


Seventy-ninth  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  Jan  Haes,  having  married  the  widow  of 
Za.  Eduwaert  Fiscock,  of  a  piece  of  land  lying  at  the  West 
angle  of  RechlcewicJc,  on  the  East  Kiver,  April  2,  1647. 

Case  5.    Folios  5. 


32  CATALOGUE   OF   MANUSCRIPTS, 

Eightieth  Manuscript. 

Memoranda.  Pieter  Montfoort,  in  addition  to  the  land 
heretofore  described,  received  [a  piece  of  land]  220  rods 
long,  in  line  with  and  of  the  same  width  as  the  first  piece, 
on  condition  that  it  should  not  interfere  with  any  plantation 
in  Breuckelen,  May  1,  1647. 

Case  5.    Folio  1. 


Eighty-first  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  Jan  Montfoortt  of  a  piece  of  land,  bor- 
dering on  the  bay  of  Merechkawich,  May  1,  1647. 

Case  5.    Folios  4> 


Eighty-second  Manuscript. 

Memoranda.     There  was  further  granted  to  the  widow  of 

Jan  Montfoort,  in  the  rear  of  the  aforesaid  land,  a  piece  of 

land  extending  in  length  190  rods  in  the  same  direction  as 

the  aforesaid  land,  and  of  the  same  width,  on  condition  that 

the  same  should  not  tend  to  the  prejudice  of  any  of  the 

neighbors,  May  1,  1647. 

Case  5.    Folio  1. 


Eighty-third  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  Jan  Eorbus  of  a  piece  of  land  lying  on  the 
creek  of  Dirck,  the  Norman,  May  15,  1647. 

Case  5.    Folios  2. 


EXCERPTA,   PRINTS,   AND   MAPS.  33 

Eighty-fourth  Manuscript. 

Sale  of  a  parcel  of  land,  at  the  north  end  of  the  flat  of 

Amersvoort,  by  Wolphert  Gerritsz  to  Teunes   Cornelissen, 

July  3,  1647. 

Case  5.    Folios  1+. 


Eighty-fifth  Manuscript. 

Agreement  between  Herrij  Breser  and  Sr  Cornells  d'Pot- 
ter  for  the  purchase  of  certain  lands  on  the  East  River,  Aug- 
ust 29,  1651. 

Case  5.     Folios  6. 


Eighty-sixth  Manuscript. 

Agreement  between  Remmert  Jansen,  on  the  one  side,  and 
Barent  Jansen  Bal  and  Hendrick  Dircksen,  on  the  other  side, 
regarding  the  lease  of  a  certain  farm  on  the  south  side  of 
the  farm  of  Hans  Hansen,  called  Rennegackonck,  August  31, 
1651. 

Case  5.    Folios  7. 


Eighty-seventh  Manuscript. 

Contract  for  the  sale  of  a  parcel  of  land  on  Long  Island, 
and  a  certain  house  in  Breuckelen  to  Sr  Cornells  de  Potter 
by  Cornells  Dirricksen,  January  4,  1652. 

Case  o.     Folios  6. 


34  CATALOGUE  OF  MANUSCRIPTS, 

Eighty-eighth  Manuscript. 

Agreement  between  Cornells  Dirricksen,  ferryman,  on  the 
one  side  and  Sir  Cornelis  de  Potter  on  the  other,  for  the  pur- 
chase of  a  certain  parcel  of  land,  at  the  ferry,  January  4, 
1652. 

Case  5.    Folios  7. 


Eighty-ninth  Manuscript. 

Agreement  between  Cornelis  Dirricksen,  ferryman,  on  the 
one  side  and  Sir  Cornelis  de  Potter,  on  the  other,  for  the 
purchase  of  a  certain  parcel  of  land,  January  4,  1652. 

Case  5.    Folios  7. 


Ninetieth  Manuscript. 

Agreement  between  Pieter  Linde,  on  the  one  side,  and 
Barent  Janssen,  on  the  other  for  the  purchase  of  a  certain 
parcel  of  land,  between  the  lands  of  Andries  Hudden  and 
Claes  Janssen  Ruijtter,  January  29,  1652. 

Case  5.    Folios  6. 


Ninety-first  Manuscript. 

Sale  of  a  parcel  of  land  on  the  East  River,  by  Jacob  Leen- 
dersz  by  power  of  attorney  from  his  father-in-law,  Frederick 
Lubbertsen,  to  Jan  Hendricksen  Stelman,  March  7,  1652. 

Case  5.    Folios  6. 


EXCERPTA,   PRINTS,   AND   MAPS.  35 

NlNETY-SECOND    MANUSCRIPT. 

Confirmation  of  the  sale  of  a  piece  of  land,  on  the  west 
side  of  the  road  leading  to  Flatbush,  by  Gerrit  Bicker  to 
Eduardt  Griffins,  granted  to  the  said  Gerrit  Bicker,  on  the 
25th  of  February,  1653,  by  the  Director-General  and  Coun- 
cil of  New  Netherland,  and  confirmed  February  28,  1653. 

Case  5.    Folios  £. 


Ninety-third  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  of  the  sale  of  a  piece  of  land  in  Middewout 
on  the  west  side  of  the  road  to  Flatbush,  by  virtue  of  a  deed 
given  the  grantor,  by  Gerrit  Bijcker,  by  the  grantor  Eduart 
Griffin  to  Bartel  Lott,  July  28,  1653. 

Case  5.    Folios  J+. 


Ninety-fourth  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  Arent  van  Hattem  of  a  certain  parcel  of 
land  lying  in  the  village  of  Midwout,  on  the  east  side  of  the 
highway,  June  4,  1654. 

Case  5.    Folios  3. 


Ninety-fifth  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  Egbert  van  Borsum  of  a  plot  of  ground 
on  Long  Island,  lying  at  the  ferry,  August  28,  1654. 

Case  5.    Folios  3. 


36  CATALOGUE   OF  MANUSCRIPTS, 

Ninety-sixth  Manuscript. 

Deed  conveying  a  piece  of  land  in  Flatbush,  otherwise 

called  Midwout,  together  with  a  house   and  barn  thereon, 

from  Dirck  Jansz  to  Cornelis  van  Ruijven,  November  24, 

1654. 

Case  5.    Folios  6. 


Ninety-seventh  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  of  the  sale  by  Cornelis  van  Tienhoven  to  Jan 
Cornelisz  Damen  of  a  certain  parcel  of  land  with  the  house 
standing  thereon  in  the  village  of  Brueckelen,  between  Joris 
Dercksen  and  black  Hans,  April  29,  1655. 

Case  5.    Folios  6. 


Ninety-eighth  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  I j sack  Foreest  of  a  parcel  of  land  in  the 
village  of  Midwout,  December  1,  1655. 

Case  5.     Folios  S. 


Ninety-ninth  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  Nicasius  de  Sille  of  a  parcel  of  land  on 
Long  Island,  in  Mespat,  beginning  at  the  bounds  of  Frans- 
coijs  Doutheij's  land  on  the  kill,  extending  west  southwest- 
erly along  the  land  of  Hans  Hansen,  March  27,  1656. 

Case  5.    Folios  Jf. 


EXCERPTA,   PRINTS,   AND   MAPS.  37 

One  Hundredth  Manuscript. 

Confirmation   to    Jochem   Garritsen    Cock   of    a   plot  of 
ground  in  the  village  of  Breuckelen,  May  27,  1656. 

Case  5.     Folios  S. 


One  Hundred  and  First  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  Cornells  Theunissen  of  a  piece  of  land  in 

Amesfoort,  beginning  at  the  palisade  fence  of  Pieter  Clasz 

and  extending  west  southwesterly  to  the  wagon  road  or  the 

Stroom  Kil,  June  1,  1657. 

Case  5.    Folios  J/.. 


One  Hundred  and  Second  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  Hans  Jongh  and  Daniel  Stiger  of  a  lot 
near  the  ferry,  August  25,  1657. 

Case  5.    Folios  2. 


One  Hundred  and  Third  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  the  heirs  of  Bruijn  Barentsen  of  a  plot  of 
ground  in  the  village  of  Breuckelen,  October  4,  1658. 

Case  5.     Folios  3. 


One  Hundred  and  Fourth  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  Gustavus  Danielis  of  a  lot  in  the  village 
of  Midwout,  April  21,  1659. 

Case  5.    Folios  2. 


38  CATALOGUE   OF  MANUSCRIPTS, 

One  Hundred  and  Fifth  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  Cornells  van  Nes  of  a  piece  of  land,  near 
the  village  of  Amesfoort,  May  23,  1659. 

Case  5.     Folios  2. 


One  Hundred  and  Sixth  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  Jan  Martensen  of  a  parcel  of  land,  near 
the  village  of  Amesfoort,  August  20,  1660. 

Case  5.    Folios  3. 


One  Hundred  and  Seventh  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  Roeloff  Marsensen  of  a  parcel  of  land 
near  the  village  of  Amesfoort,  January  29,  1661. 

Case  5.    Folios  2. 


One  Hundred  and  Eighth  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  Elbert  Elbertsz  of  a  parcel  of  land,  within 

the  jurisdiction  of  Amesfoort,  on  Baes  Jeuriaens'   Hook, 

June  14,  1661. 

Case  5.     Folios  2. 


One  Hundred  and  Ninth  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  Gerrit  Snediger  of  a  parcel  of  land  in  the 
village  of  Middewout,  on  the  west  side  of  the  road  to  the 
north  of  the  church,  January  24,  1664. 

Case  5.    Folios  6. 


EXCERPTA,   PRINTS,   AND  MAPS.  39 

One  Hundred  and  Tenth  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  Claes  Claesen  of  a  parcel  of  land  in  the 
village  of  New  Utrecht,  January  29,  1664. 

Case  5.    Folios  ^. 

One  Hundred  and  Eleventh  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  Cornelis  van  Ruijven  of  a  parcel  of  land 
in  the  village  of  Midwout,  February  26,  1664. 

Case  5.    Folios  4. 

One  Hundred  and  Twelfth  Manuscript. 

Confirmation  to  Jan  Marti jn  of  a  plot  of  ground,  on  Long 
Island,  at  the  ferry,  October  19,  1664. 

Case  5.     Folios  2. 

One  Hundred  and  Thirteenth  Manuscript. 

Deposition  of  Zeuw  Kamingh  known  as  Kaus  Hansen, 
and  Keurom,  both  Indians  regarding  the  limits  of  the  land 
of  Paulus  Vanderbeeck,  which,  previous  to  the  present  time 
was  sold  by  a  certain  Indian  known  as  Chief  or  Sachem  Ka, 
to  Jacques  Bentijn  and  William  Ariensen  (Bennett),  the 
latter  having  been  the  husband  of  Maria  Thomas,  now  the 
wife  of  Paulus  Vanderbeeck,  April  4,  1667  (English  style). 

Case  5.     Folios  2. 


BROOKLYN. 

The  origin  of  the  name  of  Brooklyn  that  titled  the  site  of 
the  town,  together  with  the  chirographic  forms  of  the  early 
designations  that  gave  geographic  distinction  to  the  physical 
features  of  its  territory. 

From  information  contributed  by  the  letters-patent  and 
the  deeds  titled  in  the  preceding  list,  it  is  evident,  that  al- 
though the  tracts  of  land  lying  within  limits  of  the  present 
territory  of  the  Borough  of  Brooklyn  were  granted  and  con- 
firmed, in  1636,  by  Wouter  van  T wilier  the  resident  director- 
general  of  the  West-India  Company  and  the  Council  of  New 
Netherland,  not  one  of  them  was  settled  upon  that  year. 
The  tract,  which  Joris  or  George  Rapalje  bought  of  the  In- 
dian owners,  for  a  certain  quantity  of  merchandise,  as  dis- 
closed by  the  instrument  of  confirmation  of  June  16,  1637, 
was  probably  the  first  which  was  occupied  and  cultivated.  It 
was  called  "  Rinnegackonck"  and  bordered  upon  the  East 
River,  and  stretched  eastward  from  the  bend  of  the  shore 
where  now  is  the  United  States  Navy-yard,  and  terminated 
southward  in  the  woods  limiting  it  in  that  direction. 

The  next  tracts  of  land  that  were  occupied  and  farmed 
lay  westward  of  it,  and  extended  along  the  East  River  beyond 
the  different  channels  of  water  bearing  the  name  of  "  Gou- 
wanes  "  and  other  corrupted  forms  of  the  original  title. 

The  first  settlers  of  the  western  end  of  Long  Island  were 
not  exclusively  people  from  the  United  Netherlands,  but  had 
severally  been  inhabitants  of  Iceland,  Greenland,  Norway, 
Sweden,  Denmark,  Flanders,  France,  Portugal,  Spain,  Italy, 

40 


EXCERPTA,   PRINTS,   AND   MAPS.  41 

England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland  as  designated  in  the  extant 
land  papers  and  conveyances  of  the  Dutch  period.  .  No 
early  settled  part  of  North  America,  embracing  so  small  an 
area  of  territory  as  that  of  the  site  of  the  Borough  of  Brook- 
lyn, had  within  it  people  of  so  many  distinct  nationalities  in 
so  short  a  range  of  time  as  seven  and  thirty  years. 

Of  the  six  towns  founded  before  the  year  1661 :  Breucke- 
len,  Midwout,  Amersfoort,  New  Utrecht,  Gravesend,  and 
Boswijck,  the  first  mentioned  has  the  precedence  of  having 
been  the  first  to  attract  settlers.  The  most  prominent  of  the 
physical  features  of  the  original  territory  of  the  town  of 
Breuckelen  bordering  upon  the  East  River  were  early  desig- 
nated under  the  strange  names  of  "  Gouwanes"  "  Marech- 
kawick"  "  Rinnegackonch"  and  "  Mespaechtes." 

The  present  geographical  title  of  Brooklyn  is  historically 
derived  from  a  village  seated  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Vecht, 
in  the  province  of  Utrecht,  Holland.  It  was  anciently 
known  under  variously  spelled  names  as  Bracola,  Broiclede, 
Broclede,  Broklede,  Broeclandia,  Broeklandia,  and  Broek- 
lande.  The  name  Breukelen,  now  distinguishing  the  village 
in  the  province  of  Utrecht,  as  said  by  an  authoritative  philol- 
ogist, should  be  Broekede,  as  it  was  in  838. 

Records  of  the  Town  of  Breuckelen. 

It  is  probable  that  the  town  of  Breuckelen  was  founded  a 
number  of  years  before  the  town  of  Midwout,  possibly  in 
the  latter  part  of  the  fourth  decade  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury during  the  administration  of  the  government  of  New 
Netherland  by  Director-general  Willem  Kieft.  As  there  is 
no  information  extant  regarding  the  text  of  the  letters-patent 
setting  forth  the  particulars  contained  in  the  instrument  of 
institution,  nevertheless  certain  land  grants  and  deeds  exist 


42  CATALOGUE   OF  MANUSCRIPTS. 

on  which  to  ground  inferences  respecting  the  relative  date 
of  the  founding  of  the  town. 

Tradition  relates  that  the  original  records  that  were  in 
the  custody  of  one  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  War  of  the  Revolution,  who,  having  remained 
an  adherent  of  the  English  Crown,  when  quitting  the  town, 
took  with  him  the  books  containing  them.  It  is  further  re- 
lated that  the  records  were  carried  by  him  to  England.  Re- 
garding them  as  of  great  value  to  the  inhabitants  of  the 
town,  the  persons  having  later  possession  of  the  records, 
brought  them  back  to  Xew  York  in  the  early  part  of  the  last 
century  and  offered  them  for  sale.  Finding  no  purchaser, 
they  returned  to  England  with  the  records.  Later  attempts 
to  ascertain  the  names  of  the  individuals  knowing  the  place 
of  the  deposit  of  the  records  were  fruitless,  and  subsequently, 
it  seems,  no  persistent  quest  for  them  was  undertaken. 


MIDWOUT. 

The  division  of  the  territory,  now  embraced  in  the  site 
of  the  Borough  of  Brooklyn,  into  districts,  began  by  the  in- 
stitution of  a  second  town  southeastward  of  the  town  of 
Breuckelen.  The  physical  features  of  its  area  naturally  dif- 
ferentiated its  landscape  from  that  of  the  first  erected  town. 
It  was  a  region  of  woods  and  bushes,  which  fact  and  that 
of  the  general  flatness  of  its  surface,  it  was  descriptively 
denominated  "  Vlacte  bos." 

Although  the  town  lay  within  the  limits  of  the  tract  of 
land  acquired  in  1636  by  Jacobus  van  Corler,  being  the 
middlemost  of  the  three  flats  named  "  Castuteeuw"  the 
import  of  the  name  given  the  town  "  Midwout  "  (Midwood), 
would  evidently  afford  ground  for  the  inference  that  it  was 
so  called  from  a  stretch  of  woodland  originally  diversifying 
a  part  of  the  landscape  of  the  region.  But  as  the  names, 
Breuckelen,  Amersfoort,  and  New  Utrecht  were  derived 
from  places  in  Holland,  as  were  many  of  the  names  of  towns 
in  New  England  from  towns  in  England,  the  title  of  the 
second  town  on  the  western  end  of  Long  Island,  is  traceable 
to  the  village  of  Midwolde,  also  written  Mitwold,  and  an- 
ciently Midwalda,  in  the  province  of  Groningen,  in  Holland. 

Records  of  the  Town  of  Midwout. 

The  extant  records  of  the  town  of  Midwout  comprise  in- 
formation relating  to  its  history  from  the  year  1651,  when  a 
number  of  settlers  began  seating  themselves  on  several  plan- 
tations and  farms  lying  within  its  limits. 

In  1652,  Director-general  Petrus  Stuyvesant  constituted 

it  a  town  under  the  title  of  Middelwout.     The   different 

43 


44  CATALOGUE   OF  MANUSCRIPTS, 

books  containing  its  records  can  be  said  to  be  in  good  con- 
dition although  the  outer  margins  of  some  of  the  opening 
pages  of  the  first  book  are  partly  frayed  and  finger-worn ;  the 
paper  being  thin  and  weak  in  texture.  The  paper  yellowed 
by  age  still  retains  the  legible  outlines  of  the  peculiar  chir- 
ography  of  the  clerks  of  the  seventeenth  century.  The 
strange  flourishes  and  curiously  formed  abbreviations  of  the 
scholarly  scribes,  each  having  a  definite  meaning,  are  not 
decipherable  by  a  copyist  unacquainted  with  this  style  of 
writing,  common  three  centuries  ago.  A  successful  tran- 
scription of  the  faded  Dutch  text  of  these  early  New  Nether- 
land  records  not  only  demands  lasting  patience  but  also  the 
skill  and  knowledge  acquired  by  many  years  of  experience 
in  this  field  of  painstaking  labor. 

The  books  containing  the  Dutch  and  English  text  of  the 
records  of  the  town  of  Midwout  embrace  the  following  manu- 
scripts : 

One  Hundred  and  Fourteenth  Manuscript. 

Book  A,  numbered  100. 

Dutch  text.  Gront  brieven  en  transporten — Mortgages 
and  conveyances,  from  February  1,  1670,  to  May  5,  1708. 

Case  6.     Folios  1-232. 

Case  7.     Folios  233-i+6k> 

One  Hundred  and  Fifteenth  Manuscript. 

Book  A  A,  numbered  101. 

Dutch  text.  Coop  brieven  en  transporten — Contracts  and 
conveyances,  from  March  1,  1674,  to  May  6,  1682. 

Case  8.     Folios  2k2. 


EXCERPTA,   PRINTS,   AND   MAPS.  45 

One  Hundred  and  Sixteenth  Manuscript. 

Book  B,  numbered  102. 

Dutch  text,  with  two  pages  of  English  text.  Koopbrieven, 
testamenten,  transporten,  et  cet. — Contracts,  wills,  and  con- 
veyances, from  October  20,  1700,  to  April  28,  1718. 

Case  9.     Folios  lbb- 


One  Hundred  and  Seventeenth  Manuscript. 

Book  B,  numbered  103. 

Dutch  text.     Frotekolen  en  transporten — Court  minutes 
and  conveyances,  from  July  2,  1659,  to  February  18,  1664. 

Case  10.     Folios  29  b> 


One  Hundred  and  Eighteenth  Manuscript. 

Book  C,  numbered  104. 

Dutch  text.     Testamenten,  transporten,  en  hijpotheeken — 

Wills,  conveyances,  and  mortgages,  from  June  16,  1666,  to 

April  4,  1679. 

Case  11.     Folios  1-21+9. 

Case  12.     Folios  250-588. 


One  Hundred  and  Nineteenth  Manuscript. 

Book  D,  numbered  105. 

Dutch  text.     Proteholen — Court  minutes,  from  March  7, 
1664,  to  August  1,  1688;  and  insets  to  1695. 

Case  13.     Folios  1-273. 

Case  lb.     Folios  27b~526. 


46  CATALOGUE   OF  MANUSCRIPTS. 

One  Hundred  and  Twentieth  Manuscript. 

Book  numbered  106. 

Dutch  text.  Dorps  vergaderings  en  Verkeizings — Town 
meetings  and  elections,  from  January  20,  1701,  to  April  17, 
1761.  Rekenings — Accounts,  1660-1667.  Begravenings, 
Burials,  from  November  5,  1660,  to  April  13,  1667. 

Case  15.     Folios  1-223. 

Case  16.     Folios  221>-U8. 


One  Hundred  and  Twenty-first  Manuscript. 

Book  numbered  107. 

Dutch  and  English  texts:  Dutch  from  November  7,  1679, 

to  April  4,   1775 — Proteholen  et  cet. — Court  minutes,  &c. 

English  text,  from  April  2,   1776  to  February  13,   1826. 

Court  minutes,  &c. 

Case  11.     Folios  1-250. 

Case  18.     Folios  251-1+08. 


Records  of  the  Town  of  Flatbush. 

Memorandum.     The  town  of  Flatbush  succeeded  the  town 
of  Midwout. 


One  Hundred  and  Twenty-second  Manuscript. 

Book  numbered  108. 

Town  meetings  from  April,  1819,  to  April,  1851. 

Case  19.     Folios  301. 


NIEUW    UTRECHT. 

The  town  of  New  Utrecht,  extending  along  the  eastern  side 
of  the  channel  of  the  Narrows,  derived  its  name  from  the 
ancient  city  and  province  of  Utrecht,  lying  along  the  river 
Rhine,  entering  Holland  on  crossing  the  western  border  of 
Germany.  The  original  territory  of  the  town  began  to  at- 
tract settlers  about  the  year  1652.  The  town  was  founded 
in  1657,  as  particularized  by  the  records. 

Records  of  the  Town  of  New  Utrecht. 

The  records  of  the  town  of  New  Utrecht  are  partly  writ- 
ten in  Dutch  and  partly  in  English.  They  are  contained  in 
a  number  of  books  designated  by  such  titles  as  are  set  forth 
by  the  following  manuscripts  that  enumerate  them. 

One  Hundred  and  Twenty-third  Manuscript. 

Book  numbered  200. 

A  collection  of  Dutch  and  English  manuscripts,  thirteen 
in  number,  1661-1719. 

Case  20.     Folios  86. 

One  Hundred  and  Twenty-fourth  Manuscript. 

Book  A,  numbered  201. 

Dutch  text,     Het  Bovk  Van  Het  Dvrp  Vtrecht  A°  1657 

— The  Book  of  the  town  of  Utrecht,  in  the  year  1657.     His- 

47 


48  CATALOGUE   OF   MANUSCRIPTS, 

tory  of  the  town,  1659-1660 ;  town  meetings,  deeds,  laws, 
highways,  1665-1831. 

Transcript  of  certain  Long  Island  chronicles,  New 
Utrecht,  April,  1847,  by  Tenuis  G.  Bergen,  deceased.  Eng- 
lish translation.     Thirteen  columns  of  printed  matter. 

Case  21.     Folios  1-200. 

Case  22.     Folios  201-356. 


One  Hundred  and  Twenty-fifth  Manuscript. 

Book  numbered  202. 

Dutch  text.  Nieuw  Wijtrechtt  durps  Boeck  begonnen  in 
de  mandtt  octtober  anno  1677 — New  Utrecht  town  book,  be- 
gun in  the  month  of  October,  in  the  year  1677 ;  from  Octo- 
ber 30,  1677,  to  June  1,  1682. 

Case  23.     Folios  88. 


One  Hundred  and  Twenty-sixth  Manuscript. 

Book  numbered  203. 

English  text.     Election  of  town  officers,  1799-1822. 

Case  2J>.     Folios  67. 


One  Hundred  and  Twenty-seventh  Manuscript. 

Book  numbered  204. 

English  text.     Election  of  town  officers,  1793-1803. 

Case  25.     Folios  102. 


EXCERPTA,   PRINTS,   AND  MAPS.  49 

One  Hundred  and  Twenty-eighth  Manuscript. 

Book  numbered  205. 

English  text.     Election  of  town  officers,  1804-1805. 

Case  25.     Folios  12^. 

One  Hundred  and  Twenty-ninth  Manuscript. 

New  Utrecht  manuscripts. 

Patent  granted  the  inhabitants  by  Governor-general  Rob- 
ert Nicolls,  August  15,  1668. 

Patent  granted   the   inhabitants   by   Lieutenant-governor 
Thomas  Dongan,  May  13,  1686. 

Duplicate  typewritten  copies. 

Case  25.     Folios  12. 


GRAVESEND. 

The  name  of  the  town  of  Gravesend,  on  the  southwestern 
side  of  Long  Island,  bordering  the  bay  of  Gravesend,  was 
evidently  derived  from  that  of  the  town  of  Gravezande  or 
Gravenzande,  overlooking  the  English  Channel,  lying  south- 
west of  The  Hague  or  Gravenhage,  in  Holland.  The  ancient 
town,  seated  on  the  seashore  along  which  stretched  lofty 
dunes  of  sand,  was  likely  titled  Gravezande,  because  it  was 
a  region  of  sand  belonging  for  many  years  to  certain  counts 
of  Holland. 

Records  of  the  Town  of  Gravesend. 

English  is  the  general  text  of  these  records.  The  words 
composing  it  are  in  many  instances  misspelled  and  badly 
written,  which  greatly  hinder  any  rapid  transcription  of 
them,  and  make  an  accurate  transcriber  blamable  for  errors 
not  his  own.  Besides  the  obscurity  of  much  of  the  text,  the 
pages  here  and  there  are  mutilated  and  to  some  extent  finger- 
worn  and  torn.  The  eight  books  containing  the  records, 
chronicling  the  history  of  the  town,  are  somewhat  volumi- 
nous as  is  indicated  by  the  number  of  folios  of  manuscript 
representing  them. 


One  Hundred  and  Thirtieth  Manuscript. 

Book  1,  numbered  300. 

English  text.     Proceedings  of  town  meetings,  court  min- 
utes, deeds,  et  cet.y  from  1646,  to  February  2,  1653. 

Case  26.     Folios  205. 
50 


EXCERPTA,   PRINTS,   AND   MAPS.  51 


One  Hundred  and  Thirty-first  Manuscript. 

Book  2,  numbered  301. 

English  text.     Deeds,  et  cet.,  from  March  26,  1653,  to 
November  21,  1670. 

Case  27.     Folios  277. 


One  Hundred  and  Thirty-second  Manuscript. 

Book  3,  numbered  302. 

English  text.     Proceedings  of  town  meetings,  deeds,  wills, 
et  cet,  from  February  9,  1656,  to  April  11,  1670. 

Case  28.     Folios  217. 


One  Hundred  and  Thirty-third  Manuscript. 

Book  4,  numbered  303. 

English  text.     Court  minutes,  from  October  2,  1662,  to 

May  2,  1699. 

Case  28.     Folios  85. 


One  Hundred  and  Thirty-fourth  Manuscript. 

Book  5,  numbered  304. 

English  text.     Deeds,  et  cet.,  from  April  26,  1672,  to  De- 
cember 4,  1685;  and  June  14,  1686. 

Case  29.     Folios  230. 


52  CATALOGUE  OF  MANUSCRIPTS. 

One  Hundred  and  Thirty-fifth  Manuscript. 

Book  6,  numbered  305. 

English  text.     Patents,  Indian  grants,  deeds,  births,  and 
marriages,  from  December  19,  1645  to  August  13,  1701. 

Case  30.     Folios  1-300. 

Case  31.     Folios  301-500. 


One  Hundred  and  Thirty-sixth  Manuscript. 

Book  7,  numbered  306. 

English  text.  Deeds,  proceedings  of  town  meetings, 
roads,  court  minutes,  et  cet.y  from  April  17,  1704,  to  Novem- 
ber 29,  1829. 

Case  32.     Folios  1-300. 

Case  33.     Folios  301-1+36. 


One  Hundred  and  Thirty-seventh  Manuscript. 

Book  8,  numbered  307. 

English  text.     Canvassers'  reports  of  elections,  from  May 

3,  1799,  to  November  4,  1845. 

Case  33.     Folios  111. 


AMERSFOORT. 

The  town  of  Amersfoort  south  of  the  town  of  Midwout, 
derived  its  name  from  the  city  similarly  denominated,  which 
lies  on  the  river  Eem  in  Holland.  The  name  was  variously 
spelled  in  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries:  Ams- 
vorde,  Hemesfurt,  and  Heemsfurt,  and  again  differently: 
Eemsfort,  Aemsfort,  Eemfort,  Amsfort,  Emesfoort,  Amis- 
voort,  and  Emesfort. 

The  name  of  the  town  of  Amersfoort,  now  changed  to  that 
of  Flatlands,  is  frequently  found  written  in  extant  deeds  as 
Amesfort. 


Records  of  the  Town  of  Amersfoort. 

The  several  preserved  records  of  the  town  are  partly  in 
Dutch  and  partly  in  English.  The  text  is  generally  legible, 
and  the  chirography  excels  in  boldness  that  of  the  records  of 
the  other  towns.  The  volumes  containing  the  records  of  the 
town  are  well  bound  and  evidence  much  care  in  their  preser- 
vations.    As  titled,  the  books  are  the  following: 


One  Hundred  and  Thirty-eighth  Manuscript. 

Book  numbered  400. 

Dutch  text.     Deeds,   et  cet.,  from  March  26,   1667,  to 
October  6,  1694. 

English  text,  from  December  25,  1718,  to  April  26,  1828. 

Case  3Jf.     Folios  322. 
53 


54  CATALOGUE  OF  MANUSCRIPTS. 

One  Hundred  and  Thirty-ninth  Manuscript. 

Book  numbered  406. 

Dutch  and  English  text.  The  volume  is  titled  "  Flatlands 
Manuscript  Records." 

The  Dutch  text  extends  from  June  13,  1661,  to  March  2, 

1699 ;  the  English,   from  June  13,   1661,  to  January  15, 

1822. 

Case  35.     Folios  117. 


One  Hundred  and  Fortieth  Manuscript. 

Book  numbered  412. 

English  text.  Flatlands  road  records,  from  May  19, 
1684,  to  May  16,  1720;  also  November  14,  1865.  Miscel- 
laneous records,  from  June  13,  1661. 

Case  36.     Folios  108. 


BOSWIJCK. 

On  February  4,  1660,  on  account  of  the  exposed  condition 
of  the  settlers  dwelling  upon  widely  scattered  farms,  Petrus 
Stuivesant  the  Lord  Director-general,  and  the  High  Coun- 
cil of  New  Netherland,  ordained,  in  consequence  of  the  ex- 
isting war  with  the  Indians,  that  the  rural  people  should 
move  from  their  separated  abodes  and  concentrate  themselves 
in  protected  places.  At  that  time  fourteen  Frenchmen,  and 
a  Dutchman,  named  Pieter  Jan  de  Wit,  their  interpreter, 
were  seeking  an  area  of  land  on  which  to  build  themselves 
homes,  the  Lord  Director-general  went  to  Mespaechtes  and 
selected  a  place  between  the  creek  bearing  that  name  and  the 
Norman's  creek,  where  twenty-two  village  lots  were  laid  out 
by  a  surveyor.  On  March  14,  1661,  upon  the  request  of  the 
inhabitants  to  have  the  new  village  bear  a  distinct  designa- 
tion, the  Lord  Director-general  named  it  Boswijch  (Bush- 
wick). 


Records  of  the  Town  of  Boswijch. 

The  volume  of  manuscripts  containing  the  records  of  the 

town  is  titled:  "  Bushwick  MS.  Kecord  Book,  1660-1825." 

The  city  of  Williamsburgh  is  now  seated  on  the  site  of  the 

town  of  Bushwick.     Newtown  Creek  was  originally  known 

as  Mespaechtes  Kill.      The   chirography  of  the   records  is 

mostly  bold  and  distinct.     The  book  has  a  thick  paper  cover, 

which  is  irreparably  torn  and  badly  worn. 

55 


56  CATALOGUE  OF  MANUSCRIPTS. 

One  Hundred  and  Forty-first  Manuscript. 

"  Bushwick  MS.  Eecord  Book,  1660-1825." 

Dutch  and  English  text.    Selection  of  the  site  of  the  town, 

names  of  the  first  settlers,  deeds,  wills,  et  cet.     Dutch  text 

from  February  4,  1660,  to  April  21,  1740;  English  text 

from  June  19,  1701,  to  November  1,  1825.     Duplicates  of 

English  text,  folios  248. 

Case  37.     Folios  368. 

Case  38.     Folios  370. 


One  Hundred  and  Forty-second  Manuscript. 

List  of  the  officers  and  representatives  of  the  towns 
of  Breuckelen,  Midwout,  Amersfoort,  Gravesend,  Nieuw 
Utrecht,  and  Boswijck,  1652-1674. 

Case  39.     Folios  32. 

Dutch  coins,  weights,  and  measures,  and  their  equivalents, 
current  and  in  use  in  New  Netherland. 

Case  39.     Folio  1. 


PEOJECTED    MAP. 

Map  of  the  plantations,  farms,  building  lots,  highways, 
and  Indian  paths  embraced  in  the  territory  of  the  towns 
of  Breuckelen,  Midwout,  Amersfoort,  Gravesend,  Nieuw 
Utrecht,  and  Boswijck,  1636-1674,  begun  and  partly  de- 
lineated. 


57 


ENGLISH    PERIODS. 

First  period.  From  the  surrender  of  the  territory  of  New 
Xetherland  by  Director-general  Peter  Stuyvesant  to  the  Eng- 
lish Crown,  on  September  8,  1664,  when  it  was  given  the 
name  of  the  Province  of  New  York,  to  July  29,  1772. 

Second  period.  On  July  29,  1772,  it  was  surrendered  to 
the  Dutch  commodores,  Cornells  Evertsen  and  Jacob  Binckes, 
and  again  called  New  Xetherland.  On  November  10,  1674, 
it  was  again  surrendered  to  the  English  Crown  by  Captain 
Anthony  Colve,  the  governor-general  of  New  Netherland, 
and  thereafter  was  known  as  the  Province  of  New  York, 
until  November  13,  1782,  when  the  provisional  articles  of 
peace,  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States  of 
America,  were  signed. 


58 


KINGS    COUNTY   AND    ITS    TOWNS. 

On  November  1,  1683,  the  law  was  passed  to  divide  the 
Province  of  New  York  and  its  dependencies  into  shires  and 
counties.  By  the  act  the  province  was  divided  into  twelve 
counties:  New  York,  Westchester,  Ulster,  Albany,  Dutchess, 
Orange,  Richmond,  Kings,  Queens,  Suffolk,  Dukes,  and 
Cornwall. 

As  enacted,  Kings  County  was  "  to  contain  the  several 
towns  of  Bushwick,  Bedford,  Brooklyn,  Flatbush,  New 
Utrecht,  and  Gravesend,  with  the  several  settlements  and 
plantations  adjacent." 


One  Hundred  and  Forty-third  Manuscript. 

Records  of  Kings  County,  1691-1825. 

English  text.  Minutes  of  the  Court  of  Sessions,  from 
November,  1691,  to  May  12,  1703;  from  May  9,  1704,  to 
May  9,  1711;  meetings  of  the  Justices;  acts  of  the  Road 
Commissioners,  from  March  28,  1704,  to  July  6,  1825 ;  pro- 
ceedings of  the  Board  of  Supervisors,  1703-1707.  Duplicate 
typewritten  copies. 

Case  JfO.     Folios  16Jf. 

59 


60  CATALOGUE  OF  MANUSCRIPTS, 

One  Hundred  and  Forty-fourth  Manuscript. 

Churches  in  Kings  County,  1654-1909. 

Dutch  and  English  text.  Excerpta  from  manuscriptic  his- 
tories of  the  churches  at  Midwout,  Amersfoort,  Breuckelen, 
]STew  Utrecht,  Gravesend,  and  Boswijck.    Folios  513. 

History  of  the  Reformed  Protestant  Dutch  Church  of 
Gravesend  from  1660  to  1892.     Folios  65. 

Communicants  from  June  27,  1763,  to  September  5,  1890. 
Folios  18. 

Marriages,  from  December  5,  1832,  to  July  15,  1890. 
Folios  14. 

Baptisms,  from  September  25,  1714,  to  September  5, 
1890.    Folios  59. 

Deaths,  from  1840  to  1890.     Folios  4. 

Case  J+l.     Folios  SS6. 
Case  42.     Folios  SSI. 

One  Hundred  and  Forty-fifth  Manuscript. 

Marriage  records  of  the  First  Reformed  Dutch  Church  of 
Brooklyn,  1660-1690.  Translated  by  Teunis  G.  Bergen,  de- 
ceased.    Folios  7. 

Baptismal  records  of  the  First  Reformed  Dutch  Church 

of  Brooklyn,  1660-1719.     Translated  by  Teunis  G.  Bergen, 

deceased.     Folios  69. 

Case  JfS.     Folios  76. 

One  Hundred  and  Forty-sixth  Manuscript. 

New  York  Colonial  Manuscripts.     Council  Minutes,  from 

1670  to  1783. 

Case  44.     Folios  181. 


EXCERPTA,  PRINTS,  AND  MAPS.  61 

One  Hundred  and  Forty-seventh  Manuscript. 

New  York  Colonial  Manuscripts,  from  1667  to  1775. 

Case  45.  Folios  268. 
Case  46.  Folios  268. 
Case  47.     Folios  270. 


One  Hundred  and  Forty-eighth  Manuscript. 

Excerpta  from  the  Documentary  History  of  the  State  of 

New  York,  vol.  i.,  folios  48;  vol.  ii.,  folios  71;  vol.  iii., 

folios  82;  vol.  iv.,  folios  40. 

Case  48.     Folios  241. 


Printed  excerpta  from  the  Ecclesiastical  Records  of  New 

York  relating  to  ministers  and  churches  in  Kings  County, 

vol.  i.,  1623-1680. 

Case  49.     Pages  S18. 


One  Hundred  and  Forty-ninth  Manuscript. 

Ibid.,  vol.  ii.,  1678-1700. 

Case  50.     Pages  162. 


One  Hundred  and  Fiftieth  Manuscript. 

Ibid.,  vol.  iii.,  1701-1725. 

Case  51.     Pages  281. 


62  CATALOGUE   OF  MANUSCRIPTS, 

One  Hundred  and  Fifty-first  Manuscript. 

Ibid.,  vol.  iv.,  1725-1750. 

Case  52.     Pages  3J/.9. 


One  Hundred  and  Fifty-second  Manuscript. 

Printed  excerpta  from  Colonial  Laws  relating  to  the  towns 
in  Kings  County.     Vol.  L,  1664-1717. 

Case  53.     Pages  338. 


One  Hundred  and  Fifty-third  Manuscript. 

Ibid.,  vol.  ii.,  1720-1737. 

Case  5k-     Pages  157. 


One  Hundred  and  Fifty-fourth  Manuscript. 

Ibid.,  vol.  iii.,  1739-1755. 

Case  55.     Pages  321. 


One  Hundred  and  Fifty-fifth  Manuscript. 

Ibid.,  vol.  iv.,  1755-1769. 

Case  56.     Pages  263. 


EXCERPTA,   PRINTS,   AND   MAPS.  63 

One  Hundred  and  Fifty-sixth  Manuscript. 

Ibid.,  vol.  v.,  1770-1775. 

Case  57.     Pages  273. 


One  Hundred  and  Fifty-seventh  Manuscript. 

Printed  excerpta  from  Colonial  Military  Service  of  men 

of  Kings  County.     Vol.  i.,  1690-1759,  pages  90;  vol.  ii., 

1673-1785,  pages  70. 

Case  58.     Pages  160. 


REVOLUTIONARY   WAE   PERIOD. 

The  patriotic  inhabitants  of  Kings  County  began  associat- 
ing in  committees  in  1775  to  further  their  aspirations  of 
freeing  themselves  from  the  tyrannical  rule  of  Great  Britain, 
and  by  taking  up  arms  in  self-defence  to  maintain  their 
right  of  self-government.  Every  measure  that  was  suggested 
by  the  colonial  congresses  and  the  provincial  conventions  for 
the  furtherance  of  the  cause  of  freedom,  they  speedily  hon- 
ored with  their  personal  sanction  and  means.  In  conse- 
quence of  the  long  occupation  of  the  western  part  of  Long 
Island  and  the  city  of  New  York  by  the  British  troops  after 
the  conflict  with  the  enemy  on  the  site  of  the  Borough  of 
Brooklyn,  in  1776,  little  was  locally  accomplished  to  frus- 
trate the  plans  of  the  arrogant  English  generals.  However, 
during  the  progress  of  the  long  struggle  for  independence, 
there  were  many  incidents  betokening  the  patriotic  zeal  and 
personal  heroism  of  the  people  of  Kings  County. 


One  Hundred  and  Fifty-eighth  Manuscript. 

Kings  County  in  the  War  of  the  Revolution,  1775-1783 ; 
Acts  of  the  Convention  and  Colonial  Congress;  election  of 
representatives;  billeting  of  troops;  precautions  respecting 
the  safety  of  cattle ;  active  service  of  local  military  organiza- 
tions, &c,  &c. 

Case  59.     Folios  52. 

04 


EXCERPTA,   PRINTS,  AND  MAPS.  65 

One  Hundred  and  Fifty-ninth  Manuscript. 

Campaign  of  1776:  General  orders,  letters,  and  papers 

relating  to  it  and  to  the  Battle  of  Long  Island,  August  27, 

1776. 

Case  59.     Folios  97. 


One  Hundred  and  Sixtieth  Manuscript. 

Excerpta  from  the  papers  of  the  Honorable  George  Clin- 
ton relating  to  the  War  of  the  Revolution  and  to  a  form  of 
government  for  the  State  of  New  York,  from  November  12, 

1776,  to  December  1,  1788. 

Case  60.     Folios  65. 


PEACE    PERIOD. 

ONE    HlJNDEED    AND    SlXTY-FIEST    MaNUSCEIPT. 

Appointments  of  military  and  civil  officers  for  Kings 
County.  Printed  excerpta.  Vol.  i.,  1783-1807,  pages  96; 
vol.  ii.,  1807-1817,  pages  37;  vol.  iii.,  1817-1821,  pages  61. 

Case  61.     Pages  19 J/.. 


66 


WAK    OF    1812-1815. 

One  Hundred  and  Sixty-second  Manuscript. 

Excerpta  from  the  Public  Papers  of  Governor  Daniel  D. 
Tompkins,  relating  to  the  defence  of  the  State  of  New  York 
during  the  War  of  1812-1815. 

Case  62.     Folios  60. 


67 


MAPS. 

Parts  of  rare  Maps  representing  early  fields  of 
discovery  and  exploration  along  the  atlantic 
coast  of  North  America,  between  the  years  1527 
and  1656. 

1.  Part  of  the  Map  of  the  World,  made  by  the  Viscount 
de  Maiollo,  in  Genoa,  in  1527,  representing  the  site  of  the 
Borough  of  Brooklyn. 

2.  Map  of  New  France,  made  by  Giacomo  de  Gastaldi, 
published  at  Venice,  in  1556. 

3.  Part  of  the  Map  of  the  World,  made  by  Girolamo  Eus- 
celli,  published  at  Venice,  in  1561. 

4.  Part  of  the  Map  of  the  World,  made  by  Gerard  Mer- 
cator,  at  Duisburg,  Germany,  in  1569. 

5.  Part  of  the  Map  of  New  Netherland,  found,  June  26, 
1841,  in  the  Koyal  Archives,  at  The  Hague. 

6.  Map  of  New  England,  New  Netherland,  and  Virginia, 
published  in  the  1630th  edition  of  the  Nieuwe  Wereldt  (New 
World),  by  Johannes  de  Laet. 

7.  Map  of  New  Belgia  or  New  Netherland,  illustrating 

the   Beschrijvinge   van  Nieuw  Nederlant    (Description   of 

New   Netherland),   published   at   Amsterdam,   Holland,    in 

1656. 

Case  68. 


68 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Pictures  of  old  localities  and  buildings  in  Brooklyn,  and 
portraits  of  some  of  the  early  inhabitants,  people  of  distinc- 
tion, etc.,  etc. 

Case  61+. 


69 


MEMOEANDA. 

There  are  a  number  of  bound  volumes  and  folios  contain- 
ing typewritten  duplicates  of  collected  and  compiled  material 
to  be  used  in  printing  the  projected  history.  The  books  are 
in  a  large  japanned  tin  box,  which  is  locked,  and  some  of  the 
typewritten  folios  are  temporarily  disposed  in  the  tin  cases 
numbered  65,  66,  67,  and  68. 

There  are  in  a  tightly  sealed  wooden  box  a  number  of 
valuable  photo-engraved  plates  of  rare  excerpta  to  be  used  in 
the  printing  of  the  projected  history  of  the  Borough  of 
Brooklyn. 

The  collected  and  compiled  material,  represented  by  about 
eighteen  thousand  folios  and  pages,  if  printed,  which  it  should 
be  for  better  protection  and  timely  use,  may  probably  be 
comprised  in  thirty  large  octavo  volumes,  each  representing 
four  hundred  pages. 


70 


OH- 


